15.11.2019: Establishing an emergency network of archives and libraries in Amberg and Sulzbach-Rosenberg

The Director-General of the State Archives, Dr. Margit Ksoll-Marcon, the Mayor of the City of Amberg, Mr. Michael Cerny, the Director-General of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Dr. Klaus Ceynowa, and the 1st Chairman of the Literaturarchiv Sulzbach-Rosenberg e.V., Mr. PD Dr. habil. Heribert Tommek, signed on 15. November 2019 at 10 a.m. in the Amberg State Archives the mutual support of archives and libraries in Amberg and Sulzbach-Rosenberg in emergencies (“Notfallverbund Amberg – Sulzbach-Rosenberg”). According to the emergency associations Augsburg (founded in 2015), Munich (founded in 2016), Nuremberg (founded in 2016), Landshut (founded in 2019) and Bamberg (founded in 2019), the association Amberg – Sulzbach-Rosenberg is the sixth of this kind in Bavaria. From an archival point of view it should be emphasized that the depot of the Amberg State Archive in Sulzbach-Rosenberg is also part of the association. The agreement includes: joint trainings and exercises, the preparation and exchange of emergency plans, and regular exchange of those responsible with each other and with external partners such as fire brigade and technical assistance. For the hopefully never-ending emergency, archives and libraries provide mutual support in order to bundle resources and to ensure faster and more effective recovery and initial supply of the affected archives, books and exhibits. One of the most important tasks of the institutions involved is the protection of the cultural goods they hold against fire, water, external violence or other unpredictable events. The past has shown that the employees of the individual institutions are often overwhelmed with large damage events without external assistance. Great catastrophes such as the Elbhochwasser 2002, the fire in the Weimar Duchess Anna Amalia Library 2004 or the collapse of the historical archives of the city of Cologne 2009 have shown this in an impressive way. Strong rains and flood events in the recent past led to a number of Bavarian nobility archives that were able to be managed with united forces. Fortunately, the institutions involved in Bavarian emergency alliances have not yet had to deal with major emergencies. The fire of the Trausnitz Castle in Landshut remains on the 21st. In October 1961, the state archive Landshut, which was currently housed there, was seriously affected. At that time, the Bavarian archive administration had to make its own experience with a large fire disaster and damage to archives and building materials. The emergency association Amberg – Sulzbach-Rosenberg, founded by the signing of this agreement, expressly invites representatives of other cultural institutions, such as museums, in Amberg and Sulzbach-Rosenberg to cooperate in the future. For more information on the work of emergency associations in Germany, see: http://notfallverbund.de/ Related Files: Pressemitteilung

08.04.2019: "Revolution – The transition from the monarchy to the Republic in the Würzburg 1918/19" - joint exhibition of the State Archives and City Archives Würzburg

A hundred years ago a revolution in Bavaria ended the monarchy. Some revolutionaries tried to establish a socialist rebel audience. In Würzburg, councillorship was particularly noticeable. At the beginning of April 1919, the Würzburg residence, at the time as it is now the headquarters of the State Archives, was the venue of the twelve-member Revolutionary Action Committee (RAA) and thus the centre of the revolutionary event. This three-day domination in the residence from 7 to 9 April 1919 is the focus of the exhibition on time. The exhibition will include the logbook of the Action Committee delivered in an act of the Prosecutor's Office, as well as a variety of posters and leaflets. With posters and leaflets, the revolutionaries tried to control the mood in the city and to inform the population about the events. In view of contradictory instructions of the Munich councils and the Bamberger Exile government was often insulted outside the larger cities, showing files from the under-French state council offices. After three days, the Würzburger Räterepublik was militaryly terminated by an association of soldiers, students and citizens. The main players of the Würzburger Räterepublik were sentenced to the Landgericht Würzburg (Local Court). From now on, communists and Spartakists were considered the main drivers of young democracy. In the NS period, many followers of the sub-French epublics and their family members were monitored and persecuted, as the files of the Gestapostelle Würzburg document the members of the RAA chair Georg Friedrich Hornung. The exhibition was prepared by the State Archive Würzburg together with the City Archive Würzburg and was already on display in the City Archive in November 2018. It is now shown in the state archive in the Würzburg residence – extended by original documents from the collections of the state archive Würzburg. The exhibition is from 9 April to 7 June 2019 the Foyer des Staatsarchiv Würzburg, Residenzplatz 2 (residence, north wing), 97070 Würzburg (closed on all holidays). The entrance is free. Opening hours: Mo–Mi 8.00–16.00, Do 8.00–20.00, Fr 8.00–13.30. Guided tours for groupn can be booked free of charge at Tel. 0931/355 29-0; Email: poststelle@stawu.bayern.de Posted on: 08.04.2019

14.10.2019: Establishing an emergency network of Bamberger Archives, Libraries and Museums

Director-General of the State Archives, Dr. Margit Ksoll-Marcon, Mayor of the City of Bamberg, Mr Andreas Starke, General Vicar of the Archdiocese of Bamberg, Monsignore Georg Kestel, President of the Otto-Friedrich University of Bamberg, Prof. Dr. habil. Godehard Ruppert, and the head of the Bamberg State Library, Ms. Library Director Prof. Dr. Bettina Wagner, signed on 14. October 2019 in the City Archive Bamberg the agreement for mutual support of Bamberger Archives, Libraries and Museums in emergencies (“Notfallverbund Bamberg”). The agreement includes: joint trainings and exercises, the preparation and exchange of emergency plans, and the permanent exchange of those responsible with each other and with external partners such as the fire department and the technical aid. For the hopefully never-ending emergency, the institutions provide mutual support to bundle resources and to ensure faster and more effective recovery and initial supply of the affected archives, books and exhibits. For the institutions involved, the protection of the cultural goods they hold against fire, water, external violence or other unpredictable events is one of the most important tasks. The past has shown that the staff of the individual institutions are often overwhelmed without external assistance, which has shown impressively large disasters such as the Elbhochwasser 2002, the fire in the Weimar Anna-Amalia-Bibliothek 2004 or the collapse of the historical archive of the city of Cologne 2009. The Bamberg emergency association, established by the signing of this agreement, expressly invites the representatives of other cultural institutions in the Bamberg city area to cooperate in the future. Further information on the work of emergency associations in Germany can be found at: http://notfallverbund.de/ On. 14.10.2019   Related files: Joint press release on the Bamberg emergency network

15.01.2019: Introduction of Archive Director Dr. Christian Kruse as new head of the Bamberg State Archive

Tuesday, 15th In January 2019, Dr. Christian Kruse, Director General Dr. Margit Ksoll-Marcon, was officially introduced as Head of the State Archives. Ms. President of the Government Heidrun Piwernetz has spoken a greeting. Dr. Christian Kruse was effective from 1. December 2018 appointed Head of the Bamberg State Archives. He followed archive director a.D. Dr. Stefan Nöth, who has been the state archive since 1st. August 2006 and retired as of 31 August 2018. Christian Kruse, born in Kiel, studied history and German at the universities of Erlangen and Vienna. He received his doctorate in Erlangen with a work on “Franz Friedrich Anton von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld 1750–1806”. After training as a scientific archivist at the Bayerische Archivschule, he worked from 1991 to 2002 in the Bayerischer Hauptstaatsarchiv and from 2002 to 2007 in the Staatsarchiv Augsburg and Nuremberg. From 2007 to 2008, he worked as a permanent representative of the Head of State Archives in Munich, from 2008 to 2018 he was responsible for archive building, stock conservation, publications and public relations in the Bavarian State Archives Directorate-General. Dr. Kruse represented the state archives of Bavaria in federal-counter-gremien. The state archive Bamberg can inaugurate a modern magazine building in the next few months. Networking in the region with archives, authorities, courts, educational institutions and schools is a central task that will be intensified.

Archives of the Free State of Bavaria for “Reparation” National Socialist Unright

‘reparation files’ are important sources of historical research due to the detailed biographical information and the attached evidence. On the 7th Day of Provenance Research on the 9th April 2025 show the Bavarian State Archives with a small showcase presentation in the Bavarian Main State Archive, which provides insights into persecution skills based on this file group. The Day of Provenance Research conveys the social and scientific relevance of this research area and takes place every year on the second Wednesday in April. In the example of the persecution fate of the Jewish woman Hedwig Bobelle during the NS period, it is shown which evaluation possibilities for example offer the compensation files. The Compensation Act contains applications submitted by Hedwig Bobelle to the Bavarian State Compensation Office from 1954. These requests for damage to freedom, property and property as well as professional and economic progress illustrate, among other things, the handling of the recovery authorities with the formerly persecuted. In many cases, detailed evidence was required which were hardly to be provided, since almost everything had to be left behind on the flight, in detention and other war-related fates. It is also clear that not only cultural goods such as paintings, musical instruments or valuable books have been robbed. Everyday objects, from personal memorabilia to furnishings, were also deprived of Nazi persecution. Files such as those of Hedwig Bobelle will be made available online in the future, taking into account the legal bases. For this purpose, between 2023 and 2030 a part of the archival tradition is digitized and deepened for the “reparation” of NS injustice of the state archives of Bavaria. Development data and digitalisates are provided online via the finder database of the Bavarian State Archives and the thematic portal “Reparation of National Socialist Unright” in the “Archivportal-D”. The digitization project was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which has been responsible for the “reparation” of national socialist injustice as the top specialist authority since the early 1950s. The theme portal implements one of the following tasks of the “reparation”. The presentation is from 2 to 30. April 2025 in the Bayerischer Hauptstaatsarchiv, Schönfeldstr. 5, 80539 Munich, to see. The entrance is free. Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 8.30-18.00 Friday 8.30-13.30 closed: Good Friday and Easter Monday, 18th and 21st April 2025 Links: on the theme portal ‘Reparation of National Socialist Unright’ link to the online collection "Reparation for National Socialist Injustice" Working group Provenance research e.V. to Events on the Day of Provenance Research the Research association Provenienzforschung Bayern Poster and Flyer: Nicole Edwards, GDA. Issued on 08.04.2025, amended on 12.05.2025.